Carl Reiner

Writer / Filmmaker

Born: 20 March 1922

Birthplace: New York, New York

Best known as: Creator of TV's The Dick Van Dyke Show

Carl Reiner is the writer and producer who created the hit show The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66), in which he played Dick Van Dyke's tyrannical boss, Alan Brady. Before that Reiner had made a name for himself on the New York stage and in Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (1950-54) and Caesar's Hour (1954-57), where he won two Emmy awards for his work as a comic actor. Reiner has had success in feature films also, directing comedies including Enter Laughing (1966-67, based on his autobiographical book and starring Alan Arkin), Oh, God (1977) and four movies with Steve Martin: The Jerk (1979), Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), The Man With Two Brains (1983) and All of Me (1984). Reiner is also known for his long-running comedy routine with Mel Brooks, "The 2,000 Year-Old Man," (winner of a 1998 Grammy), and for his occasional appearances on television and in the movies, including the role of Saul Bloom, the elderly confidence man of Steve Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven movies (co-starring George Clooney and Don Cheadle). In 2004 he lent his voice to the CGI-animated TV series Family of the Pride.

Extra credit: The Dick Van Dyke Show was set in New Rochelle, New York... Reiner's son Rob Reiner is a former TV star (All in the Family, 1971-78) and the director of several movies, including This is Spinal Tap (1984) and A Few Good Men (1992).